Ethical Canada: Iris Denim

The truth: I never liked 70s fashion. Retro vibes I can abide, sure. And I'm enjoying the normcore trend as much as the next child of the 90s. But bell bottoms and shaggy hair and -- well, all of it -- left me cringing. Until now.

Perhaps it's been the subtle infiltration of 70s silhouettes creeping into my Pinterest feed, or Jack and Rebecca's 70s era love story in the TV show This is Us, but I don't hate the style of that decade as much as I used to. In fact, when I reached out to Iris Denim, I was actually excited when they asked if I would consider wearing their blue flared denim. It turns out to be the comfiest pair of jeans I own (and currently the only actual blue denim) and the cropped flair makes me feel so confident and daring. Heck, I even love the graphic tee they included -- and I haven't worn a graphic tee since I was 17. Even my husband, who likes my style but generally doesn't comment on specific outfits, confided in me out of the blue that he loved the outfit and even found it a bit sexy. I just about fell over.

Don't let this defiantly breezy outfit fool you, though. The city is currently hunched under an oppressive deep freeze, and the radio hosts are cheerfully uttering warnings of extreme cold. I'll be wearing this outfit indoors, thank you.

Like I mentioned above, these jeans were sent to me by Iris Denim (@irisdenim). Not only was this brand founded by Canadian women, but their jeans are also made right here in Canada. The cropped flairs fit super comfortably, with just the right amount of stretch (not to mention they're very flattering around the -- ah -- backside). They did tell me that they run a bit large, so they sent me a size 24 which ended up being just perfect (I'm usually a 27/28). They were a little snug the first time I pulled them on, but the slight stretchiness meant that by the end of the day, they felt like they were made for me.

How do you feel about 70s fashion creeping back into the mainstream? What's your favourite (or least favourite) fashion era?